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Have I mentioned that I love fall? I do. I love the leaves, the crisp air, apples, pumpkin pie… I think Thanksgiving may be my favorite holiday. I love Christmas too, and I can’t wait to start doing some fun Christmas cookies. But I have to tell you, I get a little cranky when I’m in the stores and they’re already playing Christmas music, and have all their Christmas stuff up as if Thanksgiving is already passed and gone. It’s not! It’s still 2 weeks away people!

Thanksgiving gets no respect.

I’m going to give Thanksgiving its due, by golly.

With leaves! And acorns! And a squirrel!

I’m proud of this squirrel. I’ve tried decorating him several times, and never could get him right. The best I could do before this was this guy:

Ha ha! He’s pretty rough! I wanted something a little more stylized with clean lines. Mike told me I should ignore the tail shape and do my own thing. That Mike, he’s (almost) always right!

Speaking of that… I have a new toy.

It’s an airbrush!

This is kind of a funny story. Mike has been telling me for probably 2 years or more that we should get an airbrush and try airbrushing cookies. I kept saying “I don’t know… not crazy about the idea.” Because when I thought of airbrushing on food, I thought of the kind of cakes that end up on Cake Wrecks. And I actually hadn’t seen very many cookies done with the airbrush, but the ones I had seen were… um… aesthetically challenged. It was a tough sell for poor Mike.

And then I went to cookie camp! There was a demo there on airbrushing cookies, and I was instantly sold. I came home and said “Hey Mike! We need to get an airbrush!” And he said “yep.”

So I just got it recently, and I’m still not a pro– at all. But it’s fun! I am loving it, and I’m seeing the potential. I started with some fall leaves– because it’s fall, and leaves are pretty forgiving. And they’re colorful.

I made a few, and made them very basic, solid colors.

I used Meringue Powder Buttercream, and let them dry overnight. Notice I left a few of them white, with no outline. I wanted to see what I could do with only airbrush color.

Here’s what they looked like when they were done:

Yes that middle one has a big gouge out of it. I’m such a klutz!! But I had to leave it in the picture, because I wanted all of them in the same spot as they were in the pre-airbrushed picture, so you could see the comparison. So there you have it.

Anyway, I played with all kinds of colors– red, orange, green, yellow, brown. Even the plain white ones got nice and colorful. It actually made them very shiny, too! Which is kind of fun, if you’re looking for shine. And it dries very touch-able. Once the airbrush color dries on there, there is no danger of smudging the color. (Unless you drop something on the cookie. But that’s a whole different situation.)

Here they are all pretty on a plate.

I was going to pipe veins on them, but decided to try airbrushing the veins. It took some getting used to! It’s funny– it’s kind of like an Etch-a-Sketch, where you don’t really know where you’re aiming for a while. I would do the main vein down the center of the leaf, and then want to come back and have a vein coming off of that one, and I had no idea where to aim and how to match it up with the existing line! So you’ll see LOTS of mistakes up there in those cookies. But by the time I was done, I had a pretty good handle on it. Not perfect, but the learning curve isn’t huge.

After I did these, I thought they looked a little bit muddy. I wanted to try doing a batch where I glazed them one solid color, and only used one airbrush color on each. So I did these:

Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of them before airbrushing, but it was pretty much the same as the first picture up there– minus the white ones. This is what they looked like before piping some veins on them.

Here they are finished:

I can’t decide which ones I like better. I like the simplicity of these, but the multi-color ones are growing on me.

Here they are all together.

I like them all together like that.

So what do you think about airbrushing on cookies? Have you done it before? Do you want to see more? I will keep practicing and pass along what I learn. I’m going to be selling the airbrushes in my shop, and as soon as I get them, I’ll do a how-to post and maybe a video, and most likely a giveaway. So stay tuned for that.

49 Responses to “Leaves, Acorns…. And a Squirrel.”

Love it Karen! The leaves look so real…fall happens to be my favourite season too, the pumkin pie makes it even more speical. Can’t wait to see the tutorial….
I’d love to try airbrushing cookies too, I should hint that to Santa. ::)

LOVE THEM ! So nice of you to take us along when you are learning something. So you’re gorgeous cookies won’t be so daunting. You are truly a motivator and inspiring. I like the first colorful ones with piped veins the best. Would love to see more airbrushing techniques, the video and the finished products. Seeing some of your learning curve…while mine would undoubtedly be far steeper…LOL… is great. Keep it up…we want to see!

Hi Ashli! You have to use food coloring specifically designed for the airbrush. Americolor makes some, along with Chefmaster. I think there are a few others. They are very watery colors– not like the gel paste.

I love the squirrel’s swirly tail and those airbrushed cookies are beautiful!! I’m liking the airbrushed veins a bit more than the others but that could change at any given moment. PS I feel the same way about Christmas decorations in stores before Halloween!

Karen ~ like you, I have hesitated about getting an airbrush machine and to date, I haven’t. The Pegasus looks so pretty and I’ve been wanting to get one. I love the way your cookies came out. At first, I loved the airbrushing ones better than the piped veins. Once you put them all together, it’s hard to tell which ones I like the best. You did great!

AWWWWWWE-some!!!! I have played with the Wilton color mist sprays but In dont think they can give you the fine lines like an airbrush. Now I want one! Actually my hubby is like Mike and says that I should get an airbrush and try it and I couldn’t see putting the money out for one. Stupid question what is the coloring? Can you use the Amerigel or is there a certain brand of coloring?? I am very niave about it.

Hi Carrie! You have to use special airbrush colors. I bought some Americolor Amerimist colors to start out with and they work really well. They’re a lot more liquid-y than the gel paste. Almost like water. The cool thing is that they have all kinds of metallic and “pearl sheen” type colors that I’m excited to play around with for Christmas cookies! 🙂 This is a very affordable airbrush, so I’m excited to be able to offer it. Sometimes they can get pretty pricey!

WOW! These are amazing! I can’t wait for the video. I’m having a difficult time picturing how to airbrush. All I see is a big mess and food color everywhere – scary thought! In your video, I hope you’ll discuss WHERE you do this type of project and if it makes a mess elsewhere of where you are working. Very curious. The leaves are beyond gorgeous! Wow. It really makes me want an airbrush. I’ve never even thought of one or how expensive they must be. Very curious. Can’t wait to hear and see more! Fantastic job on the cookies. Mike is a good man. You two seem so adorable! Thanks for sharing your beautiful cookie pictures and ideas!

Wow Karen, these are beautiful! I have never thought about airbrushing. I really do like how the veins turned out with the airbrushing though,and the multi color of leaves. I happen to be a fall person too. And I also get upset about pushing Christmas ahead of other holldays. I always enjoy seeing your work. I know that I have a long way to go to make my cookies look anything like yours. Have a Blessed Thanksgiving.

They are great, fantastic! I think that the airbrush makes decorating difficult but maybe, when I see the video, I change my opinion. They look very pretty and I never have seen something like that. I used one to do a painting work in high school! But I never imagine to use it in cookies. Thankyou for give us new ideas!

compliments Karen, these leaves are beautiful. in Italy we don’t have the festivity of the thanksgiving but I am waiting Christmas day to prepare some new cookies.i Aspect your ideas and your councils. bye bye

Those are beautiful, Karen. Never thought about airbrushing cookies…..but maybe time to try it?? I’m with you about Thanksgiving. I love fall and don’t do anything Christmasy until Dec. 1.
Have a great Thanksgiving and thanks for posting.

I have an airbrush and have used it on cakes but I’ve never thought of using it for cookies. What a great idea! The fall leaves are perfect for that technique. I’m looking forward to seeing more of your ideas using the airbrush. Keep ’em coming, Karen!

How much mess is there? Over-spray all over the place? What did you put them on when you sprayed? Did you have to have a mini spray booth? So you’re not going to be tempted in the least to use the air brush on a cake? 🙂

Hi Karen! These cookies are beautiful! I have often thought about trying airbrushing but have never had the nerve to do it. You have encouraged me now! Can’t wait until you’re ready to start selling them!

Wow! You’re brave to try making the veins with the airbrush! They look awesome, and I love your new squirrel.
I tried out my new airbrush a couple of times already. (that I bought from YOU!!!) I’ll be posting soon, but if you want to see a very minimalistic airbrushed cookie, I did my “Happy Thanksgiving” greeting cookie with a little bit of yellow and a touch of pearl…huh, I wonder if you could mix pearl with any of the colors??
Thanks so much Karen, your cookies are beautiful and I’d never have bought the airbrush if not for Camp and “Flickr’s” demo.

Ha ha.. I was going to mention “flickr” and her demo here, but didn’t know if she wanted to be mentioned on my blog! 😀 She does such amazing things with her airbrush. I’m still very much an airbrush baby, but I’m learning! I can’t wait to see your cookies. I don’ t know about mixing the colors, but Americolor does sell a bunch of “sheen” colors (yellow sheen, red sheen, blue sheen, etc). I ordered some of those so I can try them. I’ll let you know how they are. Thanks Laura!!

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